Book opening and closing device



Feb. 6, 1951 c CAMPBELL 2,540,244

BOOK OPENING AND CLOSING DEVICE Filed Sept. 16, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet lCbarfea Home)" Cam 25b eff.

Feb. 6, 1951 Filed Sept. 16, 1946 C. H. CAMPBELL BOOK OPENING ANDCLOSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I m'eutor Char/e5 1%))??? Cam b52121mdflzway 15. m

Patented Feb. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOOK' OPENING" ANDOLOSI'NGDEVI'CE Charles Homer Campbell, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Applications'eptember 16, 1946; SerialNo; 697,356

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful imhidden from view, createsan impressive effect when in operation.

Another-object-of the invention is toprovide abook openingand closingdevice which is-simple in-construction and which may be easily andconveniently manipulated.

An additional object of the invention is-to provideabook opening andclosing. device which will not easily become damaged and which willreadily lend itself-to economical manufacture;

With the abovemore important objects in View, and such otherobj ects asmay become apparent asthis specification proceeds, the inventionconsists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

' Figure-l is a front elevation of the invention". Figure 2 is a topplan View thereof. 7

Figure 3 isa' cross sectional view, taken substantially on the plane ofthe line-3-3 in Figure 2;and'

Figure 4 -is-a--perspective view of an extension arm and spacing bracketused in the invention, thesame being shown in association with a bookindicated-by phantom lines.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electricalcircuitadapted' for use with the present invention Like characters ofreference: aroused to desi nate like parts in the specificationandthroughout the several views.

Re-ferringnow to the accompanying drawings in" detail,- the inventionconsists-of a book opening-and closing device-des gnated generally bythe reference character the same embodying in its construction a base llconfigurated substantially as shown and provided with an inclined uppersurface or platform [2, onwhich a book l3 may be positioned. The loweredge of the base ll may, if desired, include an upstanding ledge l4,such as would normally be employed to prevent the book from slidingdownwardly from the platform 12. In the instant invention, however, theledge I4 is purely ornamental, since the book 13 is firmly secured tothe base by means of suitable screws or rivets 15 which pass throughapertures 16 formed'in one of the book covers [1 and through furtherapertures I8 provided the platform l2.

The upper edge of the base I! is provided'with a further ledge l9;formed with-a substantially semicircular, centrally disposed shield 20:Itwill be noted'that the ledge I9and the shield 20 are disposedsubstantially at right angles-to the plane of the platform 12.

A mounting bracket 2'! is secured as at 2 2 to' the upper edge portionof the base I I; the-bracket 2! being more'or less L-shap'edandsupporting amotor 23- which is designed to rotate-at the speed ofapproximately one revolution'per minute. The motor 23 is secured'to thebracket-2| as at 2 ij The armature shaft 25 of themotor 23 is-dis-'posed in a plane parallel to the plane of the platform 1 l2, and a lever26 is secured'atone end': thereof to the armature shaft, as is bestshownin Figure 2. The remainingend portion of'th'e lever 26 is angulatedas at 21 and constitutes what may be ref rred to as an extensionarm- 28?The arm 28 extends-in a fiat, parallel relationship to the platform l2,and a pair of substan tially U-shaped spacingbrack'ets 29- are Welded orotherwise suitably securedto the arm 28, as is best shown in Figures 3'and 4. These bracketsare disposed in an opposed relation, so to speak,and the free arms of the brackets are secured by suitable screws orrivets 30 to the remaining cover 3! of the book [3; It will be notedthat. in this manner, the arm 28- willbe rigidly secured. in spacedrelation to the cover 3|.

Finally, a pair of limit switches'32, 33 ofsuit able type, are attachedto-the base If at the relatively opposite sides of the motor 23, theaforementioned lever 26- being' engageable'witli' these switches, aswill be hereinafter morefully described.

When the invention is placed in use, thebboli I3 is positioned upon andsecured to the platform 52 bymeans-ofthebblts or rivets l5; as has beenalready explained.

Thereupon, approximately one half of the pages 34 of the book areinserted between the cover 3| and the arm 28 while the remaining pagesare, of course, disposed between the arm 28 and the cover l1.

Assuming the book to be in the open position, substantially as shown inFigure 4, the three pole, triple throw reversing switch 36 is moved tothe close position. Current will now flow to the motor 23 from thesource 40 by the lead 38, through the movable contact arm 42 to thelimit switch 33 and by way of the terminal 44 to one side 46 of a firstphase winding, through the winding to the end 48 and back to the otherside of the source 40 by the lead 53). Further, from the ends 46, 48,leads 52, 56 will carry current by the movable arms 54, 58 of the switch36 to the second phase winding of the motor. This action causes themotor 23 to rotate or swing the lever 26 and the associated arm 28 so asto close the book, this being best shown in Figures 3 and 5.

The closing action is facilitated by the rigid connection of the arm 28to the cover 3| (through the medium of the brackets 29) and by thepositioning of the adjacent half of the book pages between the arm 28and the cover 3|. When the book is fully closed, the lever 26 willcontact the switch 53, thereby opening the electrical circuit to themotor 23 and preventing further actuation of the device in thatdirection.

When it is desired to open the book, the flow of current through themotor 23 is reversed by throwing the switch 36 to the open position,whereby the lever 28 and the associated arm 23 will be caused to rotatein the relatively opposite direction until the book is fully opened. Itwill i be noted that the switch 36 both bypasses the limit switch 33allowing current to flow to the motor through the switch 32 and furtherreverses the connections to the second phase winding of the motorwhereby reversed rotation is effected.

At the open position of the book, the lever 26 will contact the limitswitch 32 and further actuation of the device in that direction willagain be prevented.

It will be noted from the foregoing that the device is intends to openthe book at one predetermined page, that is, no means are provided forselective opening at any page such as may be required. This is becausethe device is primarily intended for display purposes, such as inchurches at the beginning and end of the religious ceremony. In suchinstance, the opening and closing of the book will cr ate an impressiveefiect, since the mechanism involved, particularly the motor 23 and theassociated lever 26, is completely hidden from view by the shield 20 andthe ledge H9. The book, therefore, is not used for the religiousservice, the minister having an- Qther Bible on his pulpit.

1 It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will beclearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly,further description thereof at this point is considered unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of I theinvention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is: 1. Means for opening and closing a bookin a predetermined position comprising a base sup- 65 port for a bookhaving a pair of cover members, one of the covers being secured to thebase, a prime mover having an armature shaft carried by said base inspaced proximity to said book, an angular extension arm secured to saidshaft and positioned in the book to overlie one of the pages therein,connectors secured to said extension arm and secured to the unattachedcover, motor stop elements positioned on said base on each side of themotor and adapted to be engaged by said lever.

2. Means for opening and closing a book in a predetermined positioncomprising a base support for a book having a pair of cover'members, oneof the covers being secured to the base, a prime mover having anarmature shaft carried by said base in spaced proximity to said book,

a member positioned in the book and overlying one of the selected pagestherein, a lateral extension on one end of the arm, said extensionsbeing connected to the armature shaft, bracket members carried by theopposing ends of the member and attached to the free cover, motor stopelements positioned on said base on each side of the motor and adaptedto be engaged by said extension.

3. A book opening and closing apparatus including a base adapted tosupport a book having one of its covers secured thereto, an electricmotor mounted on the base, an arm transversely secured to the shaft andextendin upwardly above one end of the book, a lateral extension on thearm, said extension being positioned in the book and overlying one ofthe pages therein and bracket members carried by the opposing ends ofthe extensions and secured to the free cover whereby a plurality ofpages are held between the extension and the cover.

4. A book opening and closing apparatus including a base adapted tosupport a book having one of its covers secured thereto, an electricmotor mounted on the base, an arm transversely secured to the shaft andextending upwardly aboveone end of the book, a lateral extension on thearm, said extension being positioned in the book and overlying one ofthe pages therein and bracket members carried by the Opposing ends ofthe extension and secured to the free cover whereby a plurality of pagesare held between the extension and the cover, and stop switches disposedon opposite sides of the motor and actuated by the arm uponpredetermined movement thereof to hold the book open at the selectedpage orclosed.

CHARLES HOMER CAMPBELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Brown Feb. 9, 1937

